2009 January finalist

From the Resene/Your Home and Garden Colour Home Awards Competition - Jan 2009 finalist

When Jackie Flood and her husband Mick bought this pretty 1850s cottage on Banks Peninsula, the exterior colour scheme wasn’t exactly her cup of tea.

But as the couple began to renovate, the exterior colours began to grow on Jackie. She tackled the mammoth task of stripping the exterior totara weatherboards herself, a task that took many months to finish.

“As I stripped it back all these layers and layers of colour appeared,” she says. “I could have stripped it right back to the wood, but I took it just far enough so that I could get a good smooth surface to paint on. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, but it would have taken years to strip it right back!”

Exterior colour scheme and birdhouse
Left: This photo Jackie used the cottage’s original colour scheme for inspiration. Right: Even a tiny birdhouse is painted to match.

Details of Jackie Flood and birdhouse.
Exterior walls Resene Sidecar French doors and window frames Resene Midnight Express and windowsills Resene Waikawa Grey.

The original colour was not a Resene shade, but Jackie managed to get a pretty close match. “I’ve just always used Resene paint so wanted to find a Resene colour to match if I possibly could,” she says.

Jackie painted the exterior walls in Resene Sidecar, with Resene Midnight Express for the French doors and window frames, and Resene Waikawa Grey for the sills. The roof was also rubbed back and painted with mid-grey roof paint rather than the original red. When all that was done, she sanded down and painted an old stable on the property in the same colours as the house, and converted it into a garden shed.

“The colours are beautiful all year round,” says Jackie. “When it’s winter and there’s snow on the ground the house looks warm and inviting. And in summer it looks really cool and light.” With Jackie’s careful touch-ups every spring to keep the house well-maintained and the paintwork fresh, this little cottage will be wearing its Resene colours for decades to come.

A wash in time...

Like washing your car, washing your house will help it maintain its good looks for much longer. For an instant fresh appearance, regularly wash down your home with Resene Paint Prep and Housewash diluted with water. Apply with a soft broom and wash off well.

For a slower-acting, longer-term clean, use Resene Deep Clean. Spray it on and leave. The combination of Resene Deep Clean and natural weather conditions will slowly break down any contamination, leaving a cleaner surface.

Moss and mould will grow through the paint surface and ruin the appearance of the paint. If major infestations appear, treat them with Resene Moss & Mould Killer then wash off with fresh water.